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Quick answer: If you loved Ninth House, try Hell Bent, The Secret History, A Discovery of Witches, The Atlas Six, Babel and The Magicians. Each one mixes dark academia, secret societies and magic with a mystery that keeps you turning pages.
Leigh Bardugo's adult novel follows Galaxy “Alex” Stern, a dropout who can see ghosts and is given a place at Yale to monitor the university's secret societies and their occult rituals. When a young woman is found dead, Alex starts to investigate. The books below share the elite campus settings, morally gray characters, dangerous magic and gothic atmosphere that make Ninth House so addictive.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Genre | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hell Bent | Leigh Bardugo | Dark fantasy | readers who want to continue Alex's story |
| The Secret History | Donna Tartt | Dark academia | readers who loved the elite-campus setting |
| A Discovery of Witches | Deborah Harkness | Fantasy romance | readers who like magic in academic libraries |
| The Atlas Six | Olivie Blake | Dark academia | fans of morally gray characters |
| Babel | R. F. Kuang | Historical fantasy | readers who want a serious academic setting |
| The Magicians | Lev Grossman | Fantasy | readers who like a dark take on magic schools |
| A Deadly Education | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | readers who want a grumpy, powerful heroine |
| Vita Nostra | Marina and Sergey Dyachenko | Dark fantasy | readers who want something strange |
| If We Were Villains | M. L. Rio | Dark academia | fans of literary thrillers |
| Rivers of London | Ben Aaronovitch | Urban fantasy | readers who like police work with magic |
| Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Gothic horror | readers who love creepy atmosphere |
| Six of Crows | Leigh Bardugo | Fantasy heist | readers who want more Bardugo |
| The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater | YA fantasy | readers who like ghosts and private schools |
| Plain Bad Heroines | Emily M. Danforth | Gothic horror | readers who like layered timelines |
| Bunny | Mona Awad | Dark satire | readers who want something bizarre |
1. Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
The sequel sends Alex and Dawes on a dangerous mission into the underworld to rescue Darlington. Darker, faster and full of Yale's secrets.
Best for: readers who want to continue Alex's story.
2. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A group of classics students at a Vermont college commit a murder and unravel. The book that defined dark academia.
Best for: readers who loved the elite-campus setting.
3. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Historian Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch, discovers an enchanted manuscript in Oxford's Bodleian Library and attracts the attention of a vampire. Rich, cozy and long.
Best for: readers who like magic in academic libraries.
4. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Six talented magicians compete for a place in a secret society that guards the knowledge of the lost libraries of the ancient world.
Best for: fans of morally gray characters.
5. Babel by R. F. Kuang
At an Oxford translation institute in the 1830s, Robin Swift discovers that the magic of silver bars powers the British Empire. A sharp look at language and colonialism.
Best for: readers who want a serious academic setting.
6. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Quentin Coldwater enrolls in a secret college of magic and discovers that his favorite childhood fantasy world is real and dangerous.
Best for: readers who like a dark take on magic schools.
7. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
El attends a magical school where monsters try to eat students, and she has an affinity for dark magic. Funny and deadly.
Best for: readers who want a grumpy, powerful heroine.
8. Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko
A girl is forced to attend a mysterious institute where the curriculum transforms its students. Unsettling and unique.
Best for: readers who want something strange.
9. If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
Seven acting students at an elite conservatory play Shakespeare until a death turns their games into something real.
Best for: fans of literary thrillers.
10. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Constable Peter Grant is recruited into the Metropolitan Police's secret magic unit after he interviews a ghost. Witty and full of London lore.
Best for: readers who like police work with magic.
11. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A glamorous socialite travels to a decaying mansion in 1950s Mexico to help her cousin and uncovers a family's monstrous secrets.
Best for: readers who love creepy atmosphere.
12. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Six dangerous outcasts attempt an impossible heist. It is YA, but its sharp plotting and dark characters appeal to Ninth House fans.
Best for: readers who want more Bardugo.
13. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Blue Sargent, whose family are psychics, becomes involved with four boys from an elite school who are searching for a sleeping king.
Best for: readers who like ghosts and private schools.
14. Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
A cursed girls' school in 1902 and a modern film shoot about its history overlap in this playful, creepy novel.
Best for: readers who like layered timelines.
15. Bunny by Mona Awad
A scholarship student at an elite MFA program is drawn into a strange clique of women who call each other “Bunny.” Surreal and darkly funny.
Best for: readers who want something bizarre.
How to Choose
Start with the sequel Hell Bent if you want more of Alex Stern. For the dark academia feeling, try The Secret History, If We Were Villains or The Atlas Six. If you want magic and scholarship, choose Babel, A Discovery of Witches or The Magicians. For creepier, horror-leaning reads, pick Mexican Gothic or Plain Bad Heroines. Like Ninth House, several of these books include violence and dark themes, so check content notes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ninth House a young adult book?
No. It is Leigh Bardugo's first adult novel and includes violence, drug use and sexual assault.
Is there a sequel to Ninth House?
Yes. Hell Bent was published in 2023, and a third book is planned.
What genre is Ninth House?
It is dark fantasy with mystery and dark academia elements, set at Yale.